Defining Social Capital

Social Capital is one of those things that is very complicated to define, but you know when you see it. It is best exemplified in the cheers theme song, "Sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You wanna be where you can see, our troubles are all the same, You wanna be where everybody knows your name." Most everyone has been in a community in which people know and support one another. Most have also been in communities in which people are distant, competitive, and spiteful to one another. Most would prefer the latter to the former, but a majority of communities fall far short of what would be considered ideal levels of social capital.

Social capital has been defined both in terms of the community and in terms of the individual. Individual-level social capital definitions relate to how social capital can be beneficial to an individual such as other forms of capital (economic, human, cultural, etc.). These definitions usually emphasize an individual's social network connections and the resources that are available to individuals through their network connections. One of the most cited individual-level social capital definitions is that of Pierre Bourdieu, "[Social capital is] the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition" (Bourdieu 1986, p. 248). In his definition, Bourdieu clearly sees social capital as something that is based not only on social networks, but more importantly, on the resources that one can obtain as a result of having such networks.

One of the most cited community-level social capital definitions is that of Robert Putnam, talk about social capital in terms of social networks, but also the trust, and reciprocity that are evident as a result of having healthy social connections. Putnam's 'lean and mean' definition is that social capital is, "social networks and the associated norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness" (Putnam 2007, p. 137). This definition also sees social capital as having to do with social networks, but then also suggests that social capital is also defined by some larger community-level concepts that come out of social interaction, such as trustworthiness and reciprocity.

My research not only considers the concept of social capital, but also examines social capital as a dependent variable, asking the question, "Are there features of the built environment such as porches, quality architecture, or neighborhood layout that will promote social capital within communities?" My research suggests that there are particular features of the built environment and neighborhood governance that do indeed promote social capital within communities.